Holiday in France. Sun, rest, joie de vivre. The perfect picture, right?
Until day 3. By then we’d all collectively turned into a Gogglebox family, minus the laughs. The adults were snapping at each other, the kids were walking mood swings, and me? I was the Queen of Grumpiness. Day 4 brought the realisation: our supplements were sitting in the Netherlands. On the kitchen counter. Well, f*ck. 😣
Pills are for sick people, and other nonsense I used to believe
I was that person: “Taking pills is for losers. I just eat healthily!” Nice story. Just doesn’t hold up any more. Sorry. Here are the facts:
- Dutch vegetables contain fewer nutrients than they did decades ago
- 9 in 10 people in the Netherlands get too little vitamin D, even in summer
- Magnesium deficiency is common, partly due to stress and caffeine
But I’m sure you eat that generous portion of veg every day you’d need to get the same nutrition Grandma got from one carrot. Right? No judgement here, I had to learn some expensive lessons myself first. Once I’d got properly into this kind of research, I went all in on supplements. I had a whole drawer full of odds and ends. Every new biohacking blog sent me off down another rabbit hole, and it often ended in an online shopping spree. I seriously had more supplements than herbs in my kitchen cupboard. But just taking anything and everything isn’t that clever.
Not all supplements are equal (and cheap is often expensive)
Here’s the eye-opener: those random, cheap synthetic supplements from the chemist, your own cobbled-together bio-hacks, often work far less well than you think. And sometimes against you.
What’s actually going on:
Lots of cheap supplements use isolated, synthetic forms of vitamins. Sometimes that doesn’t matter, but sometimes it really does: your body often absorbs the natural, “whole-food” form better and uses it more efficiently, because the cofactors your body needs to actually do something with it are there alongside it. An isolated vitamin in a mega-dose misses that context. Some of it simply isn’t absorbed: expensive wee.
On top of that, individual vitamins and minerals compete with each other for absorption. This isn’t marketing, it’s established nutritional science: too much zinc inhibits copper absorption, calcium and magnesium compete, and iron can affect the absorption of other substances. Knock back a handful of random pots without a plan, and you can end up working against that balance.
And take care with fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K): you don’t just wee those out, you store them. Fine in normal doses, but in high synthetic mega-doses they can build up to unwanted levels. More isn’t always better here.
In short: it’s about the right form, in the right ratio, that your body can actually use.
The system that changed my life (and my mood)
Wellness Made Simple: thoughtfully designed for your body
VMG+ Superfood Powder. Forget separate pills, this is smarter:
- A liposomal form, which can improve the absorption of a number of nutrients
- Essential oils that support absorption
- 70+ whole-food ingredients that complement each other instead of working against each other
No messy jumble of separate pots, just real food in concentrated form. My daily green power drink: a green smoothie with VMG+ every afternoon. Veg, fibre, minerals, vitamins, pre- and probiotics all in one. Your body will love you.
EO Mega+ Liquid Sachets. Those omega-3 capsules from the shop? That oil can be years old. 😝 And fresh omegas really matter here:
Omega-3 fatty acids are sensitive to oxidation. Old or poorly stored fish oil can turn rancid, and oxidised fatty acids give your body little benefit and can even work against you. So freshness, absorption and quality all matter; otherwise you’re paying for something that barely helps. The fresh sachets of EO Mega+, on the other hand:
- Airtight packaging, so minimal oxidation
- Liquid, for good absorption
- Wild orange essential oil makes it taste good
- Olive oil from Lesbos added for extra polyphenols, which help protect the omegas against oxidation
My hack: every other day I mix a sachet of EO Mega into my VMG+ drink. Trust me, you need to taste this, it’s so good. Plus: the fats help you absorb your fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) better. Pure synergy.
PB Assist+ Probiotics. I take a sachet every evening before bed. Why in the evening? At night your body’s in rest-and-repair mode, your gut movement slows down a bit, and that gives the probiotics more time to attach to your gut wall. A large part of your “happy chemicals” like serotonin are made in your gut, and a healthy microbiome is your ally there. My neurospicy minions and me? Noticeably less irritable since this routine. I noticed a difference within a few days.
“Do you really need all those supplements?”
Listen. You give your phone an update every night. Your car gets the best petrol. Your hair gets an expensive treatment. But your body, that biochemical masterpiece, has to make do with depleted veg and a bit of hope?
Your body works for you 24/7. Isn’t €4.50 a day the least you can give back? That coffee to go is more expensive (and bad for you too).
The JOMO effect (how I became a believer)
My kitchen cupboards now hold herbs. The random supplements went in the bin. That cranky holiday was my wake-up call. My supplements come with me everywhere now. I always have a sachet in my bag. In. Every. Bag.
Paranoia? No. Simply this: I’ve learnt that my body works wonders for me every day, and that deserves proper care. Because I know the difference between surviving and LIVING often comes down to that daily support. And because I now have supplements I can drink easily, that taste good and that actually do what they promise.
I’m worth it. You’re worth it. Full stop. Let’s go! 🚀
Love, Tanja
Ready to give your body the VIP treatment? Grab the Wellness Made Simple system or take the GOOD. assessment. No waffle, just results.
P.S. Yes, I’m now that person who drags her supplements everywhere. And you know what? I’m also that person with energy, focus and a positive mindset. Coincidence? I don’t think so.